


Staying Golden

by devilinthedetails



Series: A Hundred Drabbles [4]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Family, Gen, Loss, Love, Memory, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:42:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25919041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/devilinthedetails/pseuds/devilinthedetails
Summary: Luke's love for Mara stays golden across the years.
Relationships: Mara Jade/Luke Skywalker
Series: A Hundred Drabbles [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1880980
Kudos: 15





	Staying Golden

**Author's Note:**

> The idea and imagery of staying golden is borrowed with respect and slight modification from Robert Frost's poignant nature poem: "Nothing Gold Can Stay" while the "lonely as a cloud" simile is likewise borrowed with respect from the great English poet William Wordsworth. Hopefully the influence of their poetry can be felt to a degree in these humble drabbles.

The Value and Mystery of Mist (or a Misty Morning)

“Growing up on Tatooine, I never saw mist.” Luke gazed into the misty morning that seemed mythic and mysterious—as if anything could come out of it. 

“Your family farmed moisture.” Swirls of mist reflected in the green gemstones of Mara’s eyes as she studied him skeptically as if she couldn’t imagine a childhood without mist. “I thought mist would’ve been valuable to you.” 

“Moisture was valuable on Tatooine because it was rare.” Luke smiled into the mist whirling around them. “It wouldn’t have been rare if Tatooine had lots of misty mornings. No, misty mornings would’ve killed our industry.”

Lonely as a Cloud 

“Before I loved you, I think I was lonely as that cloud.” Mara pointed out the single white cloud on the horizon. “I just didn’t realize it.” 

“You were always so fierce.” Luke wondered whether the lonely cloud would find a partner before falling from the sky in sheets of rain. “It’s hard to imagine you as lonely.” 

“The fiercest beings are the loneliest beings.” Mara’s arms snaked around Luke’s waist, tugging him toward her. “Now I have you, I’m not lonely any more.” 

“Now you have me”—Luke kissed her gently as a cloud—“you’ll never be lonely again.” 

Fire-Dancing Hair

“You know what your hair reminds me of?” Luke twined Mara’s fiery hair around his fingers and admired how light and shadows cavorted across it in impossible to name shapes. 

“Let me guess. Fire.” Mara snorted, and Luke supposed from her tone that he had given her hair that same compliment a hundred times though it never became less true. 

“Yes.” Luke continued to toy with her hair, watching the play of light and dark on every red strand. “When light falls on it, dark shapes dance across it just like they do in flames. You have fire-dancing hair.” 

Golden Inside 

“Have you ever noticed that before green plants bloom, the nubs that become their blossoms are a beautiful golden?” Mara asked, and Luke, who had never observed such a phenomenon, remained silent as she went on, “You remind me of those golden nubs. Stay golden, Farmboy.” 

“I will,” Luke promised even though a voice inside him was whispering that nothing golden could stay except perhaps their love and the memory of their love. “Except my hair. That might go gray, I’m afraid.” 

“I’ll forgive you gray hairs if you stay golden inside.” Mara’s fingers stroked Luke’s still sunlight yellow hair. 

Undying Love (and Memory) 

“Are you lonely without Mom?” Ben stared at Luke with wide blue sky eyes beneath the fiery hair inherited from his mother who lived on in memory. 

“No. My memory of her is undying as is my love of her.” A grin sliced through the sharp edges of Luke’s grief as he recalled a long-ago conversation with Mara about loneliness. He brushed his lips across his son’s forehead. “As is my love of you, of course.” 

“Eww. Gross, Dad.” Ben swiped the kiss away as if it might scar his skin. “That’s way more information than I asked for…”


End file.
